Archive for May 28th, 2012

In recent centuries the world has become increasingly dominated by empirical evidence and theoretic science in developing worldviews. Advances in science have dictated Roman Catholic doctrine such as the acceptance of Darwinian evolution and Big Bang cosmology. Albert Einstein created an indelible impact on the relationship between science and religion. The question is whether or not his work was deleterious for church doctrine or whether it was compatible with, or even advanced, church dogma. It’s my contention that Einstein revived the relationship between science and theology and did not create a bifurcation between the two. Despite his personal religious beliefs, his work has helped to reinforce the harmonious conjunction of science with religion, which cannot be ignored by succeeding scientists and theologians.

For Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, his major emphasis was upon the dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. This process leading toward actualization of one’s spirit or geist extends down to humans but only because it first applies to God as the Absolute Idea. Within Hegel’s thought, the universe is in a constant process of development. In this process, God (THESIS) interacts with nature (ANTITHESIS), which results in the SYNETHSIS of human development.

One must keep in mind the fact that God is first engaged in the process of actualization, all other actualization occurs as a result of God’s increasing toward actualization. God ultimately is that being working its way in and through the whole of history so one traces out God by tracing out history wherein God is actualizing himself dialectically. Thus, within the natural realm, humans in history too are in the process of increasing in actualization.